She doesn't like scraping the windshield in the freezing cold? Some people's children. :grin: Thank you so much. It was a father and son project, now it's just me. Can't wait to get it done even tho it may be a while. If you ever start a registry please let me know. Do you have any pictures of your Buick?
Just to let you know- the shifter will work fine with a 350, and even a 700(R4), as I've had both in my '68. You can even crank the lever down to get 1st gear, it you want, on the ST300 shifter. I ended up with a '69 dash and column before I sold it, so that at least the shifter showed when it was in first. But I never had a problem with the trans shifting, either way.
AZ-69 Skylark. Living in the southwest you don't have fall project of getting one of your cars ready to put into storage for six months of the year. My wife is understanding to a point, but not to that point. I would like to do a registry if I get enough interest. I do need to get pictures posted. For some reason i have a hard time posting pictures.
Really I don't blame her. I'm from Illinois originally and I sooooo do not miss snow. I'll see if I can remember to get some pics of mine this weekend. It's a work in progress tho.
Reviving an old thread - to add some reference material - pics attached of a '68 GS Cali factory image, invoice and window sticker
I know that Buick using the least expensive pillared coupe from the 'Special' model and then adding GS parts was intended to give Buick Dealers a better chance at selling to a wider group of the (then) "Youth" market with lowest cost model - a market Buick really did not have a lot of models to compete seriously within, the thing I can't reconcile is that so many of the 'GS California' cars I see have equipment which squarely puts those cars in the GS 350 range already. Maybe there are some 'GS California' cars out there with rubber floor mats and no A/C, no PS, no PB, but I don't seem to ever see those. Maybe it was a low cost model on paper .... like a "loss leader" advertisement that you could get a Buick GS that cheap, but by the time you sat down with the sales person .... viola .... a $3,600 to $4,000 car.
Sure about that? Do you mean that carpeting was part of the 'GS California' package? I know the '68 Buick brochure is silent on carpeting as a standard equipment for the 'Special Deluxe' as the lowest cost model (the next model up - Skylark - lists carpeting as standard, though). The window sticker a few threads up (2nd pic) shows carpeting was optional (extra cost) in that 'GS California' model and that carpeting option was separate from the 'GS California' option.
One has to ask if that’s an original window sticker or ones that has been made up? Were the 68 & 69 Cali GS’s regularly ordered outside of California or was the window sticker one special ordered?
I have a '69 GS California that sold new in Hibbing, MN. Buick went "national" with the GS California in mid-year '68. In '67 they were only available from a select few dealers in California who put the package together, and they also had carpet listed in the advertisement.
I have a list of the dealers for 67 somewhere in the archives. So we know both the 67 & 68 came with carpet according to the ads, how about 69 ad? What type of dealership literature etc was available as far as the roll-out to other states for the Cali in 68 & 69. I had a formidable 69 literature collection when I had my 69 and there was nothing in any of it that mentioned the Cali being available outside of California.
Well, I think the presence of carpeting, or at least adding it as a feature suggests that the car is pretty spartan to begin with. And, to my major point, the Special Deluxe was an el strippo model which frankly might actually offend the sensibilities of many Buick people, but necessary to try to compete in the then mid-size car market and its entry-level competitors' base models. Further, by the time you add the various options (pretty basic options for most Buick folks) to the Special Deluxe model by adding the California GS package, what's the practical difference between that Special Deluxe/California GS and a basic GS 350 (or GS 340 in '67)? Not much in my mind and I don't think much price difference. I am not poo-poo-ing the existence of the California GS, just trying to understand the practical case for it - was it that it wore 'California' emblems and two sets of 'GS' emblems on the side? I mean, Ford had its GT/CS, but that model had some special body parts/panels and was a real GT. Our Buick example has extra emblems and a post coupe body, but every example I have seen with documentation indicates it cost as optioned as much as a GS 350. GSCalifornis's post (a couple ahead of this one) might actually provide a partial answer to my questions as it appears that a group of California Buick Dealers initiated the whole project and then Buick apparently moved that Dealer project "in house" and expanded the availability .... but the pricing issue as between it and a GS 350 remains. Is it the emblems?
Well, for one the hardtop was more expensive than the sedan, in 67 they used the base Special sedan for the Cali where the GS 340 was a hardtop like the Special Deluxe but used the base Special interior. In that era even a couple hundred dollars difference was huge when people were buying cars. The package was obviously popular as production over the 3 years was actually rather decent. I do think I remember the 69 brochure having a Cali in it now that I am thinking about it. The 67 GS 340 was late to the table in 67(end of March) so maybe the 67 Cali actually prompted the GS 340. Looking at the interiors of many of the base muscle cars of that era, I doubt Buick had any worries about being to spartan in comparison.
Well all good thinks have to come to an end. Due to health reason I put the 68 California up for sale. It was purchased by Vanguard Motor Sales out of Plymouth, Mi. They deal in some high end stuff as well as a lot of muscle cars. You can check it out at Vanguard motors.com. Still in the game with my 65 GS hardtop.
It's my understanding that the '68 brochure that Keith posted earlier was the "national" introduction of the California GS. That happened mid-year '68 and it was not listed in the standard Buick new car brochure for '68 but could be ordered at any Buick dealership in the US. In '69 it was included in the Buick new car brochure and had a nice two page picture with all the specifications listed and again was available at any US dealership. Hawken, yes, the '67 California GS sold well enough that Buick decided to go national with it in '68, but didn't get it advertised until mid-year '68. The two door post was the lightest chassis in the line-up and putting the GS 350 drivetrain in was Buick's attempt to compete in the "junior musclecar" movement for those who couldn't afford big-block power. As Keith stated, a couple hundred dollars back then was a BIG decision maker in which car to purchase and I think you'll find that the California GS optioned similar to a GS 350 was more than a few hundred dollars cheaper. Glenn, sorry you had to sell your '68 California GS but you've still got your '65!
I was lucky enough to find my 67 GS California in a Tucson wrecking yard. The owner was going to build it for his wife and thank God she wanted a Mustang. The car was 100 per cent complete and been on the road for 8 years now.
